Learn Hardcore Dutch: Vanavond is er een optreden in de feestzaal naast het café. - Tonight there is a performance in the banquet hall next to the café.

Vanavond means “this evening.” In Dutch, time expressions formed with van + part of the day (e.g. vanochtend, vanmiddag, vanavond) are written as one word. They’re only capitalized when they start a sentence, so here Vanavond is capital because it’s the first word.

Why is the finite verb is in the second position, and why is er placed right after it?

Dutch main clauses follow the V2 rule: the finite verb must occupy the second slot.

Slot 1: any element you want to emphasize (here Vanavond)
Slot 2: the finite verb (is)
Slot 3: the subject or placeholder (er)
So by fronting Vanavond, is moves to position 2 and er naturally follows.

What is the role of er in this sentence?

Er functions as a dummy subject or “existential there,” similar to English “there” in “There is a show.” It doesn’t refer to a location or thing, but simply introduces that “a performance” exists this evening.

Why is optreden used with een here? Is optreden a noun or a verb, and what does it mean?

Although optreden is also the verb “to perform,” here it’s an infinitive used as a noun (“a performance” or “a show”). In Dutch you can turn many verbs into nouns by using them in their infinitive form with an article. Since it’s unspecified, we use the indefinite article een: een optreden = “a performance.”

What does feestzaal mean, and why do we say de feestzaal instead of het feestzaal?

A feestzaal is a “party hall” or “function room.” It takes the article de because it belongs to the class of Dutch common-gender nouns (de-words). Unfortunately there’s no simple rule—most learners just memorize which nouns take de or het.

Why is it in de feestzaal, and could another preposition like op or aan be used?

In indicates that the performance happens inside an enclosed space (the hall).

Op would suggest “on” a surface.
Aan means “at” or “on” in a more abstract sense (e.g. aan de muur = “on the wall”).
Neither fits an indoor location in Dutch.

What does naast mean in this context, and what’s the nuance compared to bij?

Naast means “next to” or “adjacent to.” It stresses that the hall is immediately beside the café.
Bij simply means “at” or “by” and is vaguer: bij het café could be “somewhere near the café,” not necessarily right beside it.

Why is it het café, and why does café keep the accent on the “é”?

Many French loanwords—like café—are neuter in Dutch and take het. The accent on the “é” is retained to show that the stress falls on the last syllable and to distinguish it from cafe (which would suggest a different pronunciation).

Why is een used before optreden, but het before café?

Een is the indefinite article (“a/an”), used because the performance isn’t already known to the listener.
Het is the definite article (“the”), used for the specific café next to the hall, which the speaker and listener both recognize.

Could you also say Er is vanavond een optreden in de feestzaal naast het café? How would that differ in nuance?

Yes, that variant is perfectly correct.

Er is vanavond… is the standard “there is tonight” word order and sounds neutral/informative.
Vanavond is er… front-loads the time phrase and adds a slight emphasis on when the event takes place.